Comments on: Tasting Local Wine Off The Shelf In Chicago

By: bob rohden

bob rohden — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:13:03 +0000

Wendy,
Too bad you didn’t get to Binny’s Lakeview store on Clark/Wellington. They have quite a nice selection of wines that you missed out on.
The fruit wines from Lynfred, the mead wines from Wild Blossom, plus others.
With 90+ wineries in Illinois, there are tons of other choices. Go to Illinoiswine.com for the complete listing.

By: Kennyz

Kennyz — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 02:26:18 +0000

Left Foot Charley also makes a nice rose based on cab franc – very earthy – more like a good red wine than a typical rose. My absolute favorite Michigan wine is Shady Lane Cellars Brut – a terrific, toasty champagne-method sparkling with a classic pinot noir-chardonnay blend. I’m down to my last bottle of that too, and hoping someone in Chicago starts carrying/ distributing it (I bought it at the winery last year).

By: Jill

Jill — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 23:23:53 +0000

Wendy,

Thank you very much for your review and promotion of local wines! Being a part of August Hill Winery, it has been (and continues to be!) very exciting watching the Midwestern wine industry grow! We invite everyone to take a day to visit us in our neighborhood; not only to stop into our tasting room in downtown Utica, but to take in the scenery at nearby Starved Rock State Park. I was sorry to read about the unavailability of our Muscato at Fine Wine Brokers, but we have made changes to our distribution network to better service all of our customers. Again, thank you for your delightful review!

Cheers!

Jill

By: Waeschlimann

Waeschlimann — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:19:55 +0000

Bernadine –

Thanks for the feedback! I love Left Foot Charley wines, too — you have to really work to distinguish them from similar Alsatian wines. I wrote earlier on The Local Beet that Brian Ulbrich of LFC was looking for a Chicago distributor. I hope that happens, as I would love for people to be able to get his wines in Chicagoland.

FYI — I don’t know if you’re on Twitter, but the next Tweet and Taste of Michigan wines is April 13th, featuring Shady Lane wines this time (the event chooses one Michigan winery a month). Whether or not you plan to participate, Shady Lane is offering $0.01 shipping on their wines in advance of the event. It’s a great way to try their wine. More information here:

http://www.michiganbythebottle.com/ttmi.html

By: Bernadine

Bernadine — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:53:48 +0000

Nice article and tasting notes. I love Michigan Wines – they’re really the only ones we drink at home. Good Harbor, Black Star Farms are two of my favorites. I also like Leftfoot Charlie (Traverse City), Pleasantview (Harbor Springs), Leelanau Cellars (Omena/Suttons Bay), and Chateau Grand Traverse (Old Mission Peninsula). Green Grocer’s a great source for local wines and local liquor.

By: Waeschlimann

Waeschlimann — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:10:24 +0000

Taylor -

Thanks for commenting and providing more information about where to find Michigan wines in Chicago (specifically, at Vrai Amore & Provenance)– that is really helpful.

I look forward to possibly meeting you, too!

By: Taylor

Taylor — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:10:48 +0000

Wendy,

Thank you for this thorough and well conducted taste test of local wines. Coryn forwarded this article to me and we at Good Harbor are all thrilled that people are starting to recognize the quality of wines from the Leelanau and Old Mission Peninsula. It is still a hidden little gem for people “in the know” in the wine world, but word is leaking out slowly but surely and we couldn’t be happier. A few other retail stores that have a nice local representation from Michigan specifically are Vrai Amore on Webster and Provenance around the corner from Fine Wine Brokers in Lincoln Square had a few offerings as well. I hope to meet you as well in July and thank you again for the support.

Kindest Regards,

Taylor

By: Waeschlimann

Waeschlimann — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:16:34 +0000

Coryn-

The locapour pleasure is mine! Thanks for providing the information about opening/decanting your pinot noir prior to drinking. We always welcome information directly from the source about how to better enjoy a product.

Thanks also for the information about the Flavors of Chicago event. I will be in touch as we get closer to help spread the word. Hopefully, we will meet there, if not before! (I have a Leelanau/Old Mission trip in the works this summer.)

By: Coryn Briggs

Coryn Briggs — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:34:50 +0000

Wendy – Thank you for thinking local and for being a locapour! We are excited to see our wines and other wines from the NW MI region getting on the shelves and being reviewed in the Chicago area. I agree on the notes from Drew that the Arcturos Pinot Noir does need a bit of decanting or pre opening time before drinking. Again, thanks for your reviews! I also want to let you know that all three wineries mentioned above will be participating in the Flavor’s of Chicago Event on Northerly Island, July 22-25. We will all be sharing a booth along with Shady Lane Cellars as well. Perhaps we will meet in person there?